By David Finger

There is an old Chinese proverb that was once quoted by the notoriously durable former WBC lightweight champion: “Constant dripping of water wears away the stone.” It was an apt reference for a fighter who, towards the end of his career, was best known as a sturdy chin that could test a young prospect. From 1969 to 1993 the toughest chin in boxing withstood pretty much everything anyone threw his way. In a career that spanned 78 fights nobody was able to stop the steel chinned Saoul…until one day in August 1993 the stone finally cracked. An undefeated prospect named Derrell Coley destroyed Mamby in the opening round, ending one of boxing’s most unlikely streaks.

Well, in New Mexico nobody ever saw journeyman Derek Perez as another Saoul Mamby. Where Mamby was slick, Perez was raw. Where Mamby had a veteran bag of tricks and a WBC world title belt on his resume, Perez mostly just had losses. But there was one similarity: both men were tough. Perez was, for the better part of the last nine years, a sturdy and gritty journeyman who always gave 110%. He didn’t go the distance like Mamby did (Perez was stopped 13 times) but he always found a way to make a fight of it.

But after his last fight this weekend, it seems clear that the dripping water has cracked the stone. The tough as nails brawler just can’t make a fight of it by just being tough.

For only the second time in his twenty-one fight career, Perez, 146.4, was not able to make it out of the opening round, getting stopped by the streaking Dewayne Bonds, 147.8, on Saturday night at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. To his credit, Perez never accepted that he was the opponent in his six round fight with the resurgent prospect from El Paso. Perez jumped all over Bonds at the bell, looking to turn the fight into a brawl early on. But it was abundantly clear early on that Perez was a full two or three steps slower than his opponent. And then, halfway through the round, came the drop of water that most likely ended the career of the gritty Belen native. A picture perfect counter left cross from the southpaw Bonds send Perez to the canvas in a heap. Referee Rocky Burke counter the visibly damaged Perez out at 1:50 of the opening round. Although Bonds was expected to win, he recognized that he needed to win impressively if he were to emerge as a regional contender, and he did just that. With his record now standing at 10-3-1, 7 KOs it seems clear that Bonds may be a win or two away from fighting for a regional belt of some sort, which in turn would put Bonds in a world ranking if he were to win that fight. Not bad for a fighter that most boxing insiders had closed the book on after three straight losses back in 2019.

With the loss Perez falls to 2-18-1, 1 KO. The polite and likeable Perez has had a respectable career as a journeyman in the Southwest, but with nine straight losses (with seven coming by knockout) it is clear that his career should come to an end.

In the co-main event undefeated super middleweight Jorge Tovar, 168, destroyed debuting Andre Mack, 167.4, from Philadelphia. Little was known about Mack other than he was a talented athlete who played some college football, had a decent amateur boxing resume, and that he came from Philadelphia. Normally those three things alone would make for a respectable opponent, but against the hard hitting Tovar, Mack was no match. Two knockdown were set up by an impressive body attack. Mack got up from the second knockdown at 10 ½, prompting referee David Rios to wave the fight off despite protests from Mack. It made for good theater to the crowd, but a ten count is a ten count and Mack clearly failed to get up in time. The knockout came at 1:25 of the opening round. With the win Tovar improves to 2-0 with two first round KOs.

In what may be the most significant fight of the night, 31-year old Stephanie Han, 136.8, dominated the gritty Isabel Garcia, 132.6, pitching a shutout decision over four rounds. Although Han failed to knockdown Garcia, she put on an impressive boxing display that showed a stiff jab and a solid right hand. Han, the younger sister of former IBF world champion Jennifer Han, looked all the part of a world contender right now and should be seen as a legitimate contender right now. With the win Han improved to 1-0 while Garcia slipped to 0-1.

In another women’s fight undefeated Las Cruces native Amy Salinas, 113.2, was upset by the tough Indeya Smith, 111.8 of Dallas, Texas. Smith, who always fought in her opponent’s hometown, promised to try and take it out of the judges’ hands. Although she wasn’t able to score the stoppage, she did maintain a lot of pressure on the local girl, who tried to slow down the Dallas native with a body attack. Two of the three judges scored it 58-56 for Smith while the third judge scored it 58-56 for Salinas. Fightnews also scored it 58-56 for Smith, who improved to 2-3-2, 1 KO. With the loss Salinas slips to 3-1.

In the opening fight of the night Mikey Tovar, 195.8, stopped las5t minute sub Freddy Sandoval, 200.8, at 2:28 of the third round. The original co-main event featuring undefeated Brandon White was scrapped when his opponent, Mexican veteran Alejandro Moreno, was unable to secure a visa in time to take the fight. Nonetheless, a solid crowd came out to attend the show, and many local fans are hopeful that this is not the last time that School of Hard Knocks Boxing comes to Las Cruces.